June 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Philippines government suspended a ferry company from sailing after a vessel sank during a typhoon, leaving more than 800 passengers and crew missing.

The MV Princess of Stars went down two days ago en route to Cebu in the central Philippines from Manila. Thirty-two survivors have been found and five people are confirmed dead, according to the coast guard.

Eleven passenger boats and eight cargo vessels belonging to the ferry's owner, Sulpicio Lines Inc., have been ordered back to port in Manila or Cebu while the Board of Marine Inquiry investigates the accident, Transportation Undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista said.

The company said it would pay families 200,000 pesos ($4,496) in compensation for each person who died and also give survivors financial assistance to ``alleviate the terrible pain this tragedy has caused.'' The ship, the biggest passenger ferry in the Philippines, was qualified to sail during Typhoon Fengshen, Sulpicio Lines President Edgar Go said during a televised news conference today.

The company hasn't received the suspension notice and is still issuing tickets to passengers, said Sally Buaron, the company's vice president. ``We're willing to cooperate with them and we're open to any inquiry,'' she said.

Lost Contact

The ferry, which was about five hours away from its destination, last contacted the company before noon on June 21, Buaron said. ``The captain said they ran aground because of strong winds and big waves and then we lost contact.''

Go said the ship was ``listing on the port side and could hardly maneuver.''

The incident is the latest in a line of sea accidents involving the company. Sulpicio also owned M/V Dona Paz which collided with an oil tanker and sank in December 1987, killing more than 4,000 people.

``There are no signs of life,'' said Philippine Navy spokesman Edgard Arevalo, after authorities resumed the search effort at 9 a.m. local time today and scoured the waters near the vessel's upturned hull.

Flashfloods and landslides caused by the typhoon may have killed as many as 94 people, said Anthony Golez, executive director of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, adding 35 deaths have been confirmed. More than 471,000 people were affected by the storm and 69,378 are in evacuation centers mostly in central and southern provinces, the council said.

The eye of Fengshen, the seventh storm of the northwestern Pacific cyclone season, was estimated to be about 620 kilometers (385 miles) south-southeast of Hong Kong at 1 p.m. local time today and forecast to move north-northwest, the Hong Kong Observatory said in an advisory posted on its Web site.

To contact the reporter for this story: Clarissa Batino in Manila at cbatino@bloomberg.net; Francisco Alcuaz Jr. in Manila at falcuaz@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 23, 2008 02:02 EDT